Stop managing partners.
Start engineering ecosystems.
Stack your deck.
Most partner marketing runs on campaigns, not compounding returns. Vendors, distributors, telcos and ISVs pour budget into indirect channels with no framework for turning that spend into pipeline, conversion and relationships that compound value
01
The ACE Framework
Every partner marketing problem can be resolved in a structural diagnosis. The ACE framework is the model behind the book ‘Stacking the Deck’ and offers an operating system marketing leaders can use to build partner programmes that compound over 18–24 months, instead of resetting every quarter.
02
The Four ACEs
Marketing leaders lead through different strengths. Identifying yours – and the tension between archetypes on your team – is the fastest way to stronger partner marketing outcomes.
Effective partner marketing requires multiple perspectives working in concert. No single leader typically commands the full range of skills the task demands. Marketing excellence emerges from the collaboration of four distinct archetypes, each bringing essential and complementary strengths, while also carrying characteristic blind spots that the others help to fill in.
Take our quick test to see where you are.
03
Fractional leadership and coaching
Practitioner authority, on demand.
Blue Barn Consulting provides specialised advisory services centred around the ACE framework to help technology vendors, distributors, telcos and ISVs capitalise on market opportunities, optimise partner relationships, and drive sustainable growth at any market stage – without carrying the overhead of a full-time hire.
Fractional leadership
Embedded, part-time CMO / Head of Partner Marketing cover. Ecosystem strategy, team leadership, and board-level reporting – built on the ACE Framework so the value of the work keeps compounding after the engagement ends.
Coaching
One-to-one and small-team coaching for marketing leaders, using the Four ACEs diagnostic to surface archetype strengths and blind spots, then building a plan that complements and plays around them.
04
The ACE Framework Workshop Series
Full-day, facilitator-led, in-person. Start with the strategic foundation, run the flagship Masterclass across all four pillars, or go deep on the one pillar – Analytics, Content or Experience – that is costing the programme the most.
Workshop 1
Navigating the Technology Partner Ecosystem
The strategic foundation across all four ACE pillars – a shared, evidence-based view of the ecosystem before the framework is applied.
Workshop 2
The ACE Framework Masterclass
The flagship. All four pillars – Analytics, Content, Experience, Execution Engine – applied in one intensive day. Ten tangible outputs, ready for action.
Workshop 3
The Partner Analytics Intensive
Analytics pillar deep-dive. Ideal Partner Profile, segmentation and a measurement architecture that survives a CFO conversation.
Workshop 4
Partner Content that Converts
Content pillar deep-dive. Archetype-based content briefs, MDF co-marketing redesign, and portal content governance.
Workshop 5
The Partner Experience Redesign
Experience pillar deep-dive. Partner journey mapping, friction elimination, and a deal registration & MDF redesign.
Who these workshops are for
- CMOs, VP/Director of Channel Marketing, VP of Partner Sales, Chief Partner Officers and Partner Programme Leaders at B2B technology companies
- Founders and Leaders at B2B start-ups and scale-ups looking to build valuable and sustainable partnership strategies.
1 day, in-person, maximum 8 participants + post-workshop documentation + 30-day follow-up call with an option to take further coaching at preferential rates.
05
The Book
The ACE Framework and the Four ACEs, chapter by chapter — a systematic model for building partner marketing that compounds, grounded in two decades of running the function at scale.
Drawing on his experience as a leader in leading global IT distribution
This is not a transformation-journey book. It is a working manual, offering frameworks, diagnostics, and a methodology for building partner sales relationships that grow revenue, for the marketing leader who is looking beyond easy advice and failed assumptions.
06
About Blue Barn
Paul Cunningham
At Blue Barn, we believe that partnerships are central to innovation and growth in the technology sector. Via our proven ACE framework we give vendors, distributors, telcos and ISVs the confidence, clarity and ability to perform in highly competitive markets.
He is a frequent guest speaker and facilitator at events such as CommsVision, UK Partner Week and the MSP Growth Summit as well as many partner and industry podcasts and webinars.
07
Contact us
Tell us what you need and we’ll be in touch.
